The Boulder County District Attorney's Office announced Friday it will file felony trespassing charges against the 21-year-old University of Colorado graduate who was shot after police say she drunkenly wandered into a couple's Boulder home early Wednesday.

Yet defense attorney Colette Cribari said the incident was "out of character" for Ripple, who graduated from CU two weeks ago.

"She didn't enter the house with any intent of committing a crime or harming anyone," Cribari said Friday. "We're thankful she was not killed or more seriously hurt, but we're disappointed they decided to file charges on top of all this."

Prosecutors will file charges of first-degree criminal trespass of a dwelling -- a felony -- next week, according to the DA's Office.

Cribari said Ripple remains hospitalized but would not say where. Boulder Community Hospital officials said Ripple was not a patient there.

Police say Ripple entered the bedroom of a house at 425 College Ave. at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. The screen door was closed, but unlocked.

The owners of the house, identified by county property records as Timothy Justice and Doreen Orion, were in bed when they heard Ripple come in. In the darkness, they shouted to warn the intruder to leave and that they had a gun, but Ripple continued walking through the bedroom, and Justice fired one shot, police said.

When the homeowners turned on the lights, they saw Ripple on the floor with a gunshot wound to her hip and called 911, police said. They said they did not recognize her as anyone they knew.

The house, which county records show was bought for $1.7 million in 2004 and is listed for sale at $2.75 million, is at the western end of Boulder, where College Avenue dead-ends into the foothills.

Officials said preliminary tests indicate that Ripple's blood alcohol level was above 0.2 at the time of the incident.

District Attorney Stan Garnett said his office typically prosecutes about 12 to 15 cases a year involving drunken trespassing. He said there was a similar case Thursday night, though nobody was hurt.

"We see this pretty frequently," he said.

Garnett said the main goal in prosecuting such cases is to get defendants treatment for their alcohol habits. Although first-degree criminal trespassing can carry a sentence of one to five years in prison, Garnett said in cases like this, prosecutors often opt for treatment or lesser pleas in lieu of prison time.

"We try to help the person get the treatment they need for their drinking," he said.

Colorado court records show that Ripple was previously arrested on suspicion of shoplifting in Broomfield in 2010 and pleaded guilty. The charge was dismissed after a deferred sentence, records show.

Citing the "make my day" law, officials announced Thursday that no charges will be filed against Justice for shooting Ripple.

Justice and Orion are both psychiatrists. They haven't spoken publicly about the shooting.

According to a 1999 online article in Psychiatric News, Orion was stalked for at least a decade by a schizophrenic woman she treated briefly at an Arizona hospital. The article said the woman even followed her to Colorado and moved into the same Boulder neighborhood.

Colorado court records show that a restraining order was issued in 1994, prohibiting a Denver woman, who was then 42, from coming within 50 yards of Orion's office, home or car. The reasons for the restraining order -- or whether it was connected to the stalking case -- were not clear.

Back in my younger days, say 19-28 or so, I had an occasional blind drunk night. I never once found my way into any home but my own. I gave up the drinking and still find my way home to my house each and every day or night.

The homeowner was within his rights to fire on an intruder. I would add, though... That it’s a good idea to put LIGHT on the subject just before pulling the trigger. They didn’t know this girl was just drunk and no particular threat. A flashlight might have revealed that without having to take the shot.

22
posted on 05/27/2012 8:30:56 PM PDT
by Ramius
(Personally, I give us one chance in three. More tea anyone?)

When the homeowners turned on the lights, they saw Ripple on the floor with a gunshot wound to her hip

So let me get this straight. They just shot her in the dark without knowing who it was or if the person meant harm??? Then turn the lights on??? Something doesn't make sense here.

If they had turned the lights on and seen this harmless wayward waif wandering into their bedroom, would they have still shot her??? Maybe that is what really happened. Do the lights in their house only go on after a gun is fired???

the courts will waste a hundred thousand dollars bring this girl to trial.....why not just sit her down, offer some misdemenor plea, community service, etc. and go after the rapist and murderers...

I doubt there is much crime in Boulder. Maybe they want to prosecute to keep the system churning and providing employment for prosecutors, defense lawyers, guards, clerks etc. Lots of people livelihood is dependant on crime

“These folks live in a $2.75 Million dollar home, she has been stalked in the past by a schizophrenic, AND THEY DO NOT LOCK THEIR DOORS!!”

Welcome to the warped world of Boulder, Colorado - where stalked psychiatrists seem not to lock their doors at night. Those homeowners are fortunate only a drunk student walked in. Had it been a bear or a puma, things might have been rather different.

There is a reason I dubbed that place the home of Boulder Dementia Syndrome (BDS).

That place is a bubble of Liberal insanity surrounded by reality.

36
posted on 05/27/2012 9:15:51 PM PDT
by GladesGuru
(In a society predicated upon freedom, it is necessary to examine principles."...the public interest)

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